


Except Each Other

by SallyExactly



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Found Families, Hugs all around, pre-garcy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23555281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallyExactly/pseuds/SallyExactly
Summary: With all that Lucy's gone through, she's forgotten what it means to be part of a family. Luckily, she knows some people who can help remind her.
Relationships: Garcia Flynn & Lucy Preston
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	Except Each Other

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyAllieLeigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAllieLeigh/gifts).



Lucy propped her head on her hand and stared at the frozen prairie.

At least this new place had windows, even if they did have to observe strict blackout conditions after dark. But now, with the windchill at ten below, she couldn’t take the daily walks that had become her outlet... and she felt as trapped as she ever had in the bunker.

They’d rescued Rufus right before Thanksgiving, and through Christmas and New Year’s, the mood had stayed ebullient. Then Emma had trapped Lucy, Flynn, Rufus, and Jiya in a flooded mine, and they’d all nearly died of hypothermia before they could escape; Jiya had just gotten over the resulting pneumonia. That had sobered them all.

The safehouse had become very quiet, after that. Rufus had barely left Jiya’s side except when Emma jumped. Agent Christopher had sent Wyatt and Flynn on mission after mission trying to catch Rittenhouse in the present-- always just one of them, so the rest of the team wasn’t unprotected. Mason had helped Rufus look after Jiya. And Lucy... had kept to herself, when she couldn’t help.

The January blues had set in with a vengeance. And today was her birthday.

She purposefully hadn’t told the team. She didn’t want them to feel they had to do anything. Agent Christopher was the only one who would know, from the paperwork, and she wasn’t here.

This was her life now, and pity wouldn’t change anything. But Lucy couldn’t help remembering other birthdays... birthdays spent with Amy, and Dad, and a version of Mom who hadn’t been bent on world domination.

The wind howled past the window, eerie and mournful, and she blinked back tears.

Someone knocked at the door. “Hey... Lucy?” It was Rufus.

Could she pretend to still be asleep? She felt instantly ashamed of herself. Maybe he needed something. She sat up, wiped her eyes, and moved to the chair with a book, pretending she’d been reading. “Yes?”

He opened the door. “Hey... Jiya and I made cinnamon rolls. I brought you one.”

Lucy almost burst into tears all over again. But, somehow, the very idea of cinnamon rolls seemed so far away that she couldn’t... just couldn’t cope. “Thanks, but I’m... not that hungry.”

Rufus looked weirdly stunned, then quietly devastated. Lucy mentally kicked herself. “No, I’m really not hungry,” she added hurriedly. “I didn’t sleep well, and... you know how you can get so tired you’re sick to your stomach?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s usually when I grab another energy drink and work on terrible ideas like jetpacks. Good for you for being healthier.”

Lucy managed a wan smile.

“But, I also brought you some coffee. So you didn’t go into a sugar coma from just the cinnamon roll.” He put a saucer and mug on the desk. “I’ll get out of your hair. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks. Thanks, Rufus.”

He gave her that infectious warm smile. “Sure.”

When he was gone, Lucy’s answering smile slid right off her face, and she put her head down on her arms. What was _wrong_ with her? But she just couldn’t handle the thought of food right now. And it would be a crime to let Rufus and Jiya’s baking go uneaten. Bless them, anyway.

She looked out the window again. It was melodramatic to say that the grey day matched her mood, but sunshine would have made her feel at least a  _little_ better. But of course it was overcast. 

She tried to focus on the book, but the words just formed a visual backdrop for her moping. Finally she tossed it down impatiently. She should just go do more research. Emma was no doubt still scheming while Lucy sat here, feeling sorry for herself.

Rufus and Jiya were hanging around the computers as Lucy snuck over to the library corner, feeling guilty for having turned down their cinnamon rolls. She was surprised to see Wyatt up, though; he’d just gotten back from a mission late last night, and from the sound of it, he hadn’t slept for nearly sixty hours.

He looked up.  “ Hey, Lucy,” he greeted her with a smile, and she winced, caught out in the open. 

But she managed a return smile, though it felt plastic. “Hey, Wyatt.”

He crossed the room to her as she pulled a book off the shelf and prepared to settle in the armchair. At least the furnishings were nicer in this safehouse. “Listen... I was thinking, you wanna watch a movie later?”

She looked at him blankly. “Wyatt, I have work to do.”

“I know, but you have to take a break sometime.”

The idea of sitting through a movie and pretending— oh, pretending a lot of things— sat like congealed oatmeal in her stomach. “Thanks, but... not today.” She tried another smile. This one felt even more fake.

He watched her for a moment, looking disappointed. “Right,” he said. “Well... let me make you some tea.”

Lucy tried to focus on her book, but as he walked away, he muttered to Rufus: “... today?”

“Go back to bed, Wyatt.” Rufus sounded exasperated, and glanced at her. “You’re not... you're, uh, not even making any sense, man.”

She got something done, though she just kept thinking of how Mom would’ve been better at this. But Mom had decided to throw everything she’d taught Lucy to believe in under the bus for the sake of power, so. She didn’t get a say.

She made herself a  lettuce and cheese sandwich for lunch—  thanks to Connor’s automated hydroponics set-up, they could at least get lettuce. She was doing good. It even had  _vegetables_ . Well, a vegetable.

She saw Jiya eyeing her food. “What?” she snapped.

Jiya shook her head. “Nothing.”

Lucy took another bite, mollified.

“Oh, but the bathtub’s clean if you want it tonight,” Jiya added.

The bathroom by Jiya and Rufus’s room had a tub, and they were good about letting other people use it. The thought was appealing... but so was just hiding under the covers.

“ Yeah,” Lucy said, and tried a smile. “Thanks.”

The wind howling mournfully again got her attention a few hours later, and she realized she was dehydrated and hungry and her neck hurt from bending over the book for so long. She stretched, and winced.

“Hey, Lucy.” It was Mason, looking way too cheerful. “You remember that old recording we  brought back? Of Ethel Waters? The... mostly inaudible one?”

She dredged up the memory and tried to muster some enthusiasm. “Uh... yes.”

“Well, I designed an algorithm to clean it up and restore the original sound quality.” He was practically beaming. “Would you like to listen to it tonight?”

“Oh.” It came out flat. “Maybe... some other night?”

“Oh.” His expression deflated a little. “Yes, all right.”

“That’s cool that you... restored it,” she called after him, but she wasn’t sure if he even heard. God, she was just disappointing  _everyone_ today, wasn’t she?

She turned back to her work to find Rufus lingering awkwardly by the bookshelf. “Hey.”

She was running very low on fake smiles. “Hey.”

“I was just, uh...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just wondering if you were okay.”

She stared at him, and something snapped inside her. “No! Of course I’m not okay! How can any of us be okay with—” She gestured wildly around the room. “You all want me to  _do_ things, and I just— just, please, leave me alone!”

Her outburst had gotten  _everyone’s_ attention. Rufus looked stunned, and she felt like she’d kicked a puppy.

She fled to her room, so they could be all happy and sunny without cold, wet, rain cloud Lucy  dragging them down.  She closed the door behind her and burrowed deep under the covers. She didn’t cry. She just hid, feeling awful. They were talking about something in the main room.  Obviously, about  _her_ . 

Someone knocked on her door. “Lucy?” It was Flynn.

“That included you!”

A silence long enough that she  thought he’d gone away. “Lucy, it’s... important.” Pause. “May I come in?”

She sighed. If there was anyone she  _did_ want to talk to right now... it would be him. She threw off the covers and sat up. “Fine.”

He opened the door and stepped inside, hands behind his back. He looked concerned, and a little grave, and she just— If he told her _he_ was worried about her, she didn’t think she could take it.

“I, uh, I owe you an apology, Lucy,” he said. “It’s my fault.”

She looked at him blankly. “What’s your fault?”

“It’s my fault everyone is asking you to do things. I... thought it would be nice, to do something for you for your birthday.”

She continued to stare, but it was totally different now. “You know my— of course you know my birthday.”

“I... everything we came up with was so small, that I didn’t want to tell you in advance. But I know you don’t like surprises. I’m... I’m sorry.”

After a long, long moment, she hid her face in her hands. “I’m a terrible person.”

“You’re not a terrible person, Lucy. Trust me.”

“They— And I—” She finally burst into tears.

He made a noise like one would upon finding a wounded animal in the bushes, and sat down beside her. “Lucy,” he breathed.

She just shook her head.

So he put his arm around her, and gently pulled her close. She dropped her hands and buried her face in the soft fabric of his sweater. He stroked her hair and didn’t say a word, just let her cry herself out.

And even though she was in tears, it felt so good to be taken care of, just for a few minutes.

Finally, she wound down and just sort of sniffled a little. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Lucy.” His voice was soft.

She looked up at him, and sat up, though she wouldn’t have minded leaning against his shoulder a little while longer. The tears had been cathartic, though. “Everyone was being so helpful,” she said, and wiped her eyes. “And I thought, what’s wrong with _me?_ ”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Lucy.” He waited until she looked him in the eye. Then he added, “This is hard. There’s nothing wrong with you for having bad days.”

She closed her eyes for a moment against the prickle of relief those simple words brought her. Then she opened them again. “I can’t believe you all put something together for my birthday. No one’s done anything like that for me in... a long time.”

His smile was pleased. “I brought you a peace offering.” He held out a plate with a cinnamon roll.

“I _know_ you didn’t make those.” She took it anyway.

“I helped. I served as a taste tester for the icing.” He was suppressing a smirk. “I told Rufus and Jiya I had information on your icing preferences from the journal.”

“ There is  _zero_ chance they believed you.” She couldn’t help laughing.

He shrugged. “I was persuasive.” The smirk blossomed into a ridiculously dorky smile.

She broke off a piece and offered him the plate, then popped the bite of pastry in her mouth. “Oh my God, this is amazing,” she said with her mouth full. Sweet, but not too sweet. Light and crumby. And a deep, rich cinnamon flavor.

He tore off a small piece. “There’s five more out there with your name on them. I saw Rufus fending Mason off with a wooden spoon.”

Lucy laughed. They ate together in a companionable silence, though Lucy noticed that Flynn left most of the roll for her. She also noticed how warm the back of her hand felt when it brushed his.

“So,” she said, when the cinnamon roll was almost gone. “What was the plan for my birthday?”

“Well... cinnamon rolls for breakfast.” He licked his lip. “We were hoping to talk you into taking a break. Lunch with everyone... there’s a few presents. Not much, but...”

“Flynn.” It was her turn to cut off his self-deprecation. “This is all so much more than I was expecting.”

He looked shyly pleased. “After lunch, a movie with Wyatt... Jiya was going to offer you her nail polish. Then while I made dinner--”

“You were going to make dinner?”

“Yes.”

“What were you going to make?”

“I... got the ingredients for a couple of dishes. I was going to ask you what you preferred.”

“How did you— of course Agent Christopher was in on this.”

“— While I made dinner, Connor was going to play some jazz and offer you cocktails. Dinner, and then we were going to let you win at trivia before the bathtub was yours. If you wanted it.”

Lucy snorted. “You probably shouldn’t have told me you were going to let me win.”

“Lucy, the only trivia deck we have is American history. All we have to do to let you win is... play.”

He had a point.

“But if you don’t want to do any of it? That’s okay. Whatever you want, Lucy.”

“No, that all sounds _amazing_ ,” she said. “I can’t believe you all planned that.”

“Well, we thought you were worth it.”

Those casual words went straight to her heart. She smiled. “Thank you,” she said softly. It was a team effort, clearly. But by his own admission, he’d spearheaded and organized it.

Her happiness made her bold. Before she lost her nerve, before she overthought it, she leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she echoed. “Garcia.”

He flushed pink, stared at her, opened his mouth, and didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands. It was adorable. “I’ll, uh,” he stammered. “I’ll... go and... tell the others you’re coming out.”

She privately thought they might wonder why he was that unusual shade, but kept that to herself. “And I’ll...” She looked down at her sweats. “Put on something a little more festive.” She had a red sweater dress that was both warm and, if she did say so herself, attractive.

“Whatever you’re comfortable in.” His voice still sounded a little strange.

The silence after he closed the door behind him was very different from the silence earlier in the morning. She still felt like tearing up, but this time it was at the thought of what her friends had done for her.

When she came out, everyone was gathered in the kitchen, trying not to look like they were gathered. “You guys, I’m... sorry about before—”

“You’re not allowed to apologize on your birthday,” Connor called from where he was tinkering with their sound system.

Rufus nodded. “While you were in your room, we took the Lifeboat back and got that written into the United States Code.”

She stared at him, horrified, for half a second, until she realized he was joking.

“So, uh, here.” He offered her a tray, which held... the rest of the cinnamon rolls, with a candle in each one. “These are for you.”

Lucy stared at her friend, about to cry all over again, but from happiness— and relief, in a way. Then she smiled, took the tray, put it down, and hugged him fiercely. “This is amazing,” she managed. “Thank you.”

Then, of course, she hugged Jiya, and Wyatt, and Connor. “Thank you,” she whispered to each of them.

Finally she turned to Flynn, who looked hesitant, but definitely not unwilling. She put her arms around him and leaned into him. God, it felt so good when he held her. That was something she’d have to investigate... later.

“Happy birthday, Lucy,” he murmured, his voice rumbling against her ear. “Happy birthday.”


End file.
